标题: [Stanford] Tips on Writing Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement Essays [打印本页] 作者: yanglinfang 时间: 2012-11-18 11:56:35 标题: [Stanford] Tips on Writing Statement of Purpose and Personal Statement Essays
重点:
Personal statements and statements of purpose are perhaps the most important parts of
applications. There is little you can do to change your GPA or your curriculum vitae (the
academic version of a resume), but these statements can be written in many different ways,
emphasizing different aspects of your interests, goals, personality, and style. They present the
unique qualities that make you the candidate that a committee wants to select, and a good
statement of purpose can also affect those professors who will write letters of recommendation
for you. Consequently, you need to pay particular attention to their composition. Admissions
and approval committees have been known to accept candidates with uneven academic records
or reject otherwise excellent candidates on the basis of these statements.
Statements of purpose are required of all fellowship and graduate school applications. These
essays require you to describe clearly your interests, your proposed intellectual projects leading
towards major research or dissertation, as well as your plans for the future.
A statement of purpose or interest is very different than the personal essay you wrote for
undergraduate applications. It is NOT a general biographical sketch, nor is it primarily a
personal reflection upon your decisions to enter a field, nor does it focus on your extracurricular
activities (unless those activities pertain to your scholarly interests). You will not be asked
something like “View a photograph and describe it.” Being a scholar, researcher or teacher will
demand your best communication skills, so your essay should reassure the committee that you
can communicate effectively and with a deep understanding of your field. You should write in a
personable manner but this is somewhat different than writing a personal essay for undergraduate
admissions.
Keep in mind that you are writing to a particular audience, usually of faculty in your field
(unlike your undergraduate admissions essay, which was directed to a general admissions
committee). In other words, if you are applying for a chemistry PhD program, you will be
addressing fellow chemists, for history, fellow historians, etc. If you are applying to an
interdisciplinary program (e.g., History of Consciousness at Santa Cruz), your audience is a
diverse group of scholars (literature, history, philosophy, etc.) all united by a similar concern.
Show your drafts to faculty members, particularly those writing letters of recommendation,
fellow students, and others. Accept criticisms with as little defensiveness as possible. On
occasion you will get conflicting opinions on the presentation of your ideas and you will have to
decide which direction to take. If you have a leading faculty mentor, you may defer to his or her
opinion over others.
The “trick” of this essay is to transform supplication into conversation, to change begging into
exchange. Readers want to get a feeling of your intellect, and in a successful essay they will want
to continue the discussion you’ve initiated, which they can only do if they admit you into their
program. They will want you to be a part of their community of scholars because you have
something to offer. They ask: “Would I be interested in talking to this student about her
research over lunch?”
Concentrate on demonstrating what you know about your field and what you hope to
accomplish in graduate school and even beyond. Is there a particular area of the field that you
find interesting? What do you hope to contribute to the field? Avoid digressions.
Demonstrate your knowledge of the field by making appropriate references to leading
scholars, major writers, and current debates or concerns, employing appropriate technical
terminology.
You are not simply offering a summary of a field, so your ability to present your own
arguments demonstrates how creatively you engage the entire field.
Make concrete references to the program you are applying to and to the faculty you would
like to study with. However, make sure these references are sufficiently broad so that you do
not sound as if you want to study with just one person or have an excessively narrow interest in
the field.
作者: yanglinfang 时间: 2012-11-18 12:20:41
继续
However you construct yourself, never lie.
Not only is lying wrong, but lies are usually easily detected and self-defeating.
No matter how different your intellectual or other relevant experiences
may be, seek out some way to bring everything together as a coherent whole.
One suggestion is NOT to have an opening
but simply to start – avoid the high-stake gambit altogether. An opening that uses an anecdote
about your interest in the field is very popular. It can be very effective, and it’s a common way
that people can express their interests. But it’s so popular that it may come across as trite, unless
it is a very powerful, appropriate anecdote, and it must be short.
Opening with a personal narrative (e.g., how
I became passionate about this subject) can be effective, but, again, this approach is very popular
and even overdone (“When I was six I was hit on the head at the playground, and ever since then
I’ve wanted to be a neuroscientist”). If you do use personal narrative, make it very brief and to
the point. Don’t spend half your essay relating a story.
Present your interests according to an underlying theme, framing idea or argument that then
draws from the history of your involvement to illustrate your idea.
Address any anomalies in your transcript. If you have any lapses, unusual low grades,
withdrawals or anything else that seems strange, explain them in as non-defensive a way as
possible.
Avoid excessive, unreasonable enthusiasm.
Check your writing style for unconscious attempts at forced sincerity or authenticity.
Don’t
follow rhetorical flow; follow the logic of your underlying coherence.
Be conscious of inflammatory or biased language. You may hold strong opinions about the
field or be motivated by particular causes. Do not mask your opinions, but be aware of
presenting yourself in a tactful, judicious fashion.
作者: yanglinfang 时间: 2012-11-18 12:25:40
No jokes.
Do not write what you think the committee wants to read. Be yourself.
Growing up in Canada with a life-long fascination for Canadian geography and the environment, I have always been interested in returning to the country. Although my family moved to the United States before I entered high school, I have always kept my eyes turned north, especially in recent years as I began to read journal articles about research conducted at the University of Alberta on John Evans Glacier, located about 80° N latitude. Now I see the opportunity to return to my birthplace and study a topic I am passionate about. Graduating next semester with a B.S. in computer science and engineering and a minor in geographic information systems, I am especially interested in attending the University of Alberta for graduate study.
Geographic information systems (GIS) is a field especially suited to investigating spatial patterns, unearthing elusive geographic parameters, modeling diverse scenarios and overlaying spatial data. This semester, in my advanced GIS course, Spatial Data Structures and Algorithms, I am part of a team developing a temporal database and program for tracing historical trading data. My computer science skills have also been put to use in two summer internship projects, where I acquired proficiency with using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) technology, now favored by NASA in its current 10-year study of Greenland and changes in the ice cap extent. Through my coursework and project experience, I have also accrued skills in using Arc/Info, ArcView, Microstation, and RDBMS software packages, and I am equally comfortable programming in Visual Basic, C++ and Java.
For my graduate research project, I would like to investigate methods for improving current GIS data models to better incorporate time as a variable in studying climate change. Changes in glaciers and polar environments occur rapidly, and these changes become important indicators of broader, potentially catastrophic, global changes. By developing and applying temporal GIS methods to glaciology, I can contribute to improved spatio-temporal analysis techniques that will provide better insights into the factors impacting the polar environment and glaciers. In addition, I can discern which temporal methods generally serve as the best predictors, and provide benefits to the GIS research community that apply to areas other than glaciology.
Once completing my master's program, my long-term goals include either entering the GIS field as a professional consultant or continuing my research and earning my Ph.D. at another program of international reputation. Having advanced experience with temporal GIS technology would make me a valuable consultant to a company, especially in the twin burgeoning fields of computer science and GIS. If I decide to continue on the research path, I would be most interested in a Ph.D. program that allows me to conduct field research in Antarctica.
The University of Alberta is an ideal location for my master's degree study because it allows me to integrate my facility for computer science with my chosen application area—geology. My academic advisors and my own research into your university programs have confirmed your strengths in both computer science and glaciology, and the recent application of these areas to field research at Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada, is especially appealing to me. With my deep-rooted interest in Canadian geology and recognition of the quality of your university programs, I hope you will give my application every consideration. 作者: yanglinfang 时间: 2012-11-24 06:47:11
Do you long to make your mark in image sequence analysis, conduct research on robust 3-D object recognition or master exemplary cache management skills? Then you're probably headed for graduate school, and to get there, you'll need to write a persuasive personal statement. Whether it's called a personal statement, a statement of purpose or a letter of intent, the goal is the same—you have about 500 words to petition for admission into a program that probably receives 10 times more applicants than it can accept. A well-written, thoughtful personal statement will help elevate you above the crowd.
Discern the Criteria of the Essay Question
Although some applications may simply request a one-page statement without specifying any content guidelines, typically you are asked to comment on matters of personal background, work experience, research goals, long-term objectives and your particular interest in the program to which you are applying. Attend to each of these categories, perhaps devoting one short paragraph to each, explicitly and efficiently. Anchor your topic sentences in the language of the criteria (e.g., "My long-term goals are..."; "My past research endeavors include..."), followed by examples demonstrating the specifics of your background and the clarity of your thinking.
Articulate Your Personal and Professional Inspiration
Having read hundreds of personal statements over the years, I recognize how valuable it is to paint an interesting personal but professional picture of yourself. Some students make the mistake of discussing something far too private or unsettling in their personal background (such as a serious family crisis or a bout with depression), while others come off as a wannabe hacker or exude a "computers are really cool" naivete. Instead, give a thumbnail sketch that stresses positive and professional influence: a memorable and uplifting early experience, a high school or college project that ignited or deepened your interest in computer science, an especially inspiring teacher or relative who followed a career path that you emulate. The goal is to write an opening paragraph that no other candidate could have written, while striking a professional, positive tone.
Discuss Your Experience as a Set of Aquired Skills
With emphasis on professional experience and transferable skills, describe your background using action verbs (e.g., "I programmed..."; "I installed and maintained..."; "As part of a team, I redesigned..."). If you are not invited to submit a resume with your application, you may want to incorporate the job descriptions from your resume into your statement. Also, seek to interweave a discussion of your coursework, teaching and activities with a description of your actual work experience as necessary. Those Web pages you designed as part of a classroom project, or your work as a teaching assistant for a lab course, or your active involvement in the student chapter of a professional association can be just as relevant as an internship position.
Describe a Research Plan or Identify an Area of Research Interest
Herein lies the toughest yet most important job for most grad school applicants—describing your specific research interest. Recognize, however, that you are not committing to an unbreakable covenant, but simply identifying a compatible area of interest. For specifics here, turn to your previous coursework, think about successful projects you have already taken part in, and browse the host program's Web pages and application materials to determine what kinds of projects the professors and research teams undertake. Selection committees will give special attention to students who show an interest in theoretical computer science, or those who have a background in a related application area, such as chemistry, mathematics or geographic information systems, and successfully tie their interests to a projected area of research. Stress your desire and ability to solve relevant problems and address research questions.
Establish Long-Term Objectives
As with the discussion of a research plan, long-term objectives are not lifetime commitments but thoughtful, concrete plans. Valuable options here include specifying continued work in a particular research area, the desire to obtain a Ph.D. or teach at the university level, or future plans to work as an independent or corporate consultant. By articulating a reasonable long-term objective or two, you persuade a program that you are worthy of serious consideration. If you're hazy about long-term objectives, discuss some possibilities with an advisor in your field from whom you might also receive feedback on your personal statement.
Close by Discussing Specifics About the Program to Which You Are Applying
Learning all you can about the target program not only makes sense, it gives you concrete closing material to include in your essay. Many graduate programs include downloadable application materials on their Web sites, and just one phone call to the program's graduate office will secure plenty of materials. Also, be certain to research information about the faculty, perhaps reading some of the faculty publications to familiarize yourself with the research being done. Some students even email faculty whom they are especially interested in working with, establish a correspondence, and cite this interaction in their personal statement. The goal is to create a professional link between yourself and the program, its facilities and its faculty. Go beyond simply inserting the program name into your final paragraph; prove that you have done your homework.
Pay a Visit
Without question, an on-site visit is the best way to ensure a good fit between you and a graduate program, and graduate directors will always give special attention to candidates willing to make a visit. Do not count on being invited specifically to visit a program but set up an appointment on your own, ideally before or while your application is under consideration. While visiting the site, be certain to have relevant questions ready for the graduate director, ask to tour the facilities, and try to meet with a faculty member or two. If you are especially interested in a particular program, an on-site visit would be a finishing stroke to a perfect application.作者: yanglinfang 时间: 2012-11-24 06:47:40